


In The End

by TheDarkLordMegatron



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Death, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Murder, Partner Betrayal, Well A Lot of Blood, not a happy fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-07-11 22:56:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15982262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkLordMegatron/pseuds/TheDarkLordMegatron
Summary: He had never been a particularly compassionate man, his mother had taken great pleasure in reminding him of that fact throughout his childhood - ‘You really are a heartless child Titus’  - but he had never considered himself cruel. Unlike his brothers and father, he did not take pleasure in causing suffering, he’d always been the one to swoop in after their malicious acts and free whatever poor soul had been their target from their suffering; be they human or animal, he just didn’t feel the emotions he supposed he should as he watched the life leave their eyes.Perhaps that was why it had been such an easy decision in the end.





	In The End

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by an anon on Tumblr:
> 
> Okay but consider the idea of Drautos killing Cor and holding him as he dies? Like, he knows Insomnia is going to fall and can't bear the thought of Cor dying by Imperial hands, so one evening he decides to take the matter into his own hands.

He had never been a particularly compassionate man, his mother had taken great pleasure in reminding him of that fact throughout his childhood - ‘You really are a heartless child Titus’ - but he had never considered himself cruel. Unlike his brothers and father, he did not take pleasure in causing suffering, he’d always been the one to swoop in after their malicious acts and free whatever poor soul had been their target from their suffering; be they human or animal, he just didn’t feel the emotions he supposed he should as he watched the life leave their eyes. 

Perhaps that was why it had been such an easy decision in the end. 

There had been a small part of him that protested against the notion, insisted that Cor could protect himself, that he would not suffer at the hands of the Imperials as so many before him had - he had long since suspected that his partner would find a way of killing himself before allowing himself to be caught. He had spent months toying with the idea, knowing from the moment Izunia stepped foot in Insomnia, that the city would fall before the year was out, along with it the King and his retinue. The thought of Cor, the Marshal, the Immortal, dying at the hands of a Daemon or overwhelmed by Imperial forces was an unpleasant one. He deserved better. He deserved to live, but such a thought was beyond realistic. Cor would not survive, he would try of course, Titus wouldn’t expect anything less, but it would all be for naught. 

It was better this way. Or at least he had thought it would be up until the moment his knife pierced the soft flesh of Cor’s exposed back. Sitting on the floor of the still running shower, he cradled the other man against his chest, running his fingers through wet hair and pressing kisses to his brow. The left hand on his bicep trembled from exertion, clenching and unclenching as it’s owner desperately fought for breath; while blue eyes looked up at him, shining with a mixture of pain and betrayal. No words were exchanged between the pair, Titus had nothing to see and Cor could hardly breathe, let alone speak, when one of his lungs had likely been punctured by the knife - a highly probably scenario if his desperate gasps were any indication. 

The quiet voice in the back of his head that had once pleaded for him to grant Cor mercy, was informing him that a knife to the back was hardly a merciful death - there were far quicker options. Options that would have left Cor none the wiser as to his attackers identity, that would have killed him almost instantaneously and painlessly. Deaths that would have required him to use his hands to harm Cor rather than a weapon; it was easier to come to terms with his actions when his hands weren’t directly responsible. 

Pulling himself from his thoughts Titus returned his attention to Cor, only to find those blue eyes that had once been so bright and full of life, dull and staring into nothing; and the hand upon his bicep resting lifeless against the shower tray. For a moment he sat stock-still, fingers paused in their motions and the now ice cold water beating down on his shoulders. Cor Leonis, the man he loved and respected, laid dead in his arms from an injury caused by his own hands. 

Shifting Cor gently, he leant in to press a kiss against his forehead, whispering ‘Forgive me’ into the rapidly cooling skin. Not that he particularly expected forgiveness in this life or the next. Reaching out he switched off the shower and moved to lean against the tiles, still cradling Cor in his arms. 

He would have to inform the appropriate authorities soon, claim that he had heard a noise and gone to investigate only to find Cor bleeding out in the shower, no attacker in sight. It would be a widely reported death, one that would affect many and likely reach the far corners of Lucis within days - the Marshal was a well-known and well-liked man after all. There would be investigations with no obvious conclusion, because how could Titus Drautos, a man who had shown his devotion to Cor in public more than once, be responsible for such a horrific crime? 

Soon he would send a simple text to the King: ‘Help’. Soon his Glaives and Cor’s guards would crowd their tiny apartment, horrified and determined to find the killer. The King and his Shield would stand outside the bathroom, observing the blood-covered scene with mournful eyes while Titus refused to relinquish the body. Cor would eventually be taken from him, leaving Titus alone in the shower, soaked to the bone and covered in his partner’s blood, with a small silver ring in his back pocket. But for now he would hold onto a moment’s peace, if only for a few minutes, secure in the knowledge that he had saved Cor from a drawn-out and painful death.

**Author's Note:**

> Come chat with me on Tumblr! My URL is thedarklordmegatron !


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